Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New paper finds climate in Tibet was more stable in the 20th century than prior

A new paper published in Climate of the Past reconstructs the climate of southeast Tibet over 224 years from 1781-2005 and finds, "The climate appears drier and more stable in the 20th century than previously." The paper contradicts claims of climate alarmists that global warming causes an increase of extreme weather or extreme precipitation. In addition, the paper finds cloud cover decreased during the 20th century in comparison to the 19th century, which could amplify solar effects on temperature. According to the authors, "The occurrence of years of extreme low or high cloud index appears to have strongly decreased since the 1920s, suggesting a relatively stable summer moisture condition in southeast Tibet in spite of the increasing [alleged] impact of human activities on climate."The paper adds to many other peer-reviewed papers demonstrating that a warmer climate is a more benign and stable climate, with less extremes of precipitation, floods, droughts, and weather.

Top graph shows dO18, a proxy for precipitation and temperature. Precipitation was more variable and extreme during the 19th century than the 20th. Bottom graph shows reconstructed cloud cover, with decreased cloud cover in the 20th century compared to the 19th.